Some quotes about the Cda-EU trade deal announced Friday

"This is a big deal; this is the biggest deal Canada has ever made." Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

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"Businesses, provinces and territories have been crucial partners in reaching this point in the negotiation." Harper.

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"I think anyone who opposes it will lose and make a big historic mistake politically for so doing." Harper.

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"This is a highly ambitious and far-reaching trade agreement of great importance for the EU's economy," EU President Jose Manuel Barroso.

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"If this deal is so important, shouldn't Canadians have the chance to accept or reject it?" Council of Canadians head Maude Barlow.

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"The agreement strikes an appropriate balance between rewarding innovators and ensuring that Canadians are able to reap the fruits of such innovation, from the latest technologies to a wide range of affordable, life-saving drugs." Excerpt from government documents outlining the agreement.

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"Today's announcement contains a lot of hype. Canadians are still left waiting to read the fine print. Why won't this government just release the text of this deal and let Canadians judge it for themselves?" NDP MP David Christopherson.

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"The pharmaceutical intellectual property provisions announced in today’s agreement in principle fall short of the European Commission’s original unnecessary demands on behalf of brand-name drug companies, but will still delay market entry of cost-saving generic prescription medicines in Canada in the future, increasing health-care costs for provinces, employers that sponsor drug plans for their employees and Canadians who pay for their prescription medicines out-of-pocket." Jim Keon, president of the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association.

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"It will take income from Canadian dairy farmers and their communities and give it to the European industry." Dairy Farmers of Ontario.

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"The removal of long-standing barriers in this agreement, such as high tariffs, finally enables Canadian beef producers to benefit from the high value that the European beef market represents." Martin Unrau, president of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association.

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"This is the Wayne Gretzky of trade deals." Jayson Myers, president and CEO of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters.